Sociometric Assessment

Sociometric assessment is the measurement of interpersonal relationships in a social group. Sociometric measurement or assessment methods provide information about an individual's social status, which is their social standing within a group. School-based sociometric assessment focuses on a child's relationships with peers. Most sociometric assessment methods derive information on social relationships by assessing children's positive and negative social perceptions of one another. Researchers have found that sociometric assessment can be useful in identifying children's social standing and predicting children's positive or negative social outcomes.

Measuring and understanding a child's social status is important for several reasons. The establishment of friendships and positive social interactions are important for children's social development. Children with poor peer relationships often experience negative social and emotional consequences that can continue throughout adulthood. These negative consequences can include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor selfconcept, social withdrawal, and antisocial behaviors such as aggression and criminality. Researchers have estimated that at least 1 in 10 children experience negative peer relationships. Therefore, a large number of children with poor social relationships may be at risk for developing behavioral and emotional difficulties.

Sociometric assessment methods were introduced in the 1930s. In the 1950s, several books were published on the topic of sociometrics, and sociometric measurements often were part of research and schoolbased assessments of children's social relationships. The use of sociometric procedures declined in the following decades with the advancement of social behavior rating scales and ethical concerns related to the use of sociometric methods.

There are a variety of sociometric assessment techniques. The most widely used is peer nominations, in which children in a social group or school classroom anonymously identify social preferences for their classmates. For example, children may be asked to provide a list of three classmates with whom they would most like to play and three with whom they would least like to play. Another peer nomination technique is to provide a list of names of the children in a classroom along with social acceptance items (e.g., “Who do you like to play with?” “Who is most likely to be alone during recess?” “Who gets into trouble the most?”). The children are asked to place an ‘X’ next to the name of one to three classmates who they perceive best fits the item description (Figure 1). An alternative for early readers is to use photographs rather than a list of names and to read the items aloud in either an individual or group classroom setting. In either method, the numbers of nominations are summed for each child, and the results are used to identify children who are positively and negatively perceived by their peers.

Other sociometric techniques can be described as peer ratings and sociometric rankings. Peer ratings are conducted by providing a list of children's names in the social group or classroom along with a rating for social acceptance items. The ratings methods that are used may vary, typically ranging from three to five responses (e.g., Agree, Neutral, Disagree). In contrast to peer nominations and ratings, sociometric rankings are completed by an adult(s), most often the classroom teacher.

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